as in dissection
examination of a dead body especially to find out the cause of death
the autopsy revealed an advanced stage of cancer
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Recent Examples of autopsy
Ray Santilli, a music producer, claims that in 1993 he was shown real footage of an alien autopsy filmed by a US military veteran at Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947 (when an alien aircraft is supposed to have crash-landed there).
—
The Week Uk, TheWeek, 18 June 2026
Sam Carpenter, the public information officer for the Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop D, which patrols Table Rock Lake, said that an autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday, and the results would be released to the Overland Park Police, which lead the investigation into Lieurance’s disappearance.
—Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 17 June 2026
An official autopsy is set to take place.
—News Desk, Artforum, 17 June 2026
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner was expected to conduct autopsies on the victims.
—Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 16 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for autopsy
The Week Uk, TheWeek, 18 June 2026
Sam Carpenter, the public information officer for the Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop D, which patrols Table Rock Lake, said that an autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday, and the results would be released to the Overland Park Police, which lead the investigation into Lieurance’s disappearance.
—Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 17 June 2026
An official autopsy is set to take place.
—News Desk, Artforum, 17 June 2026
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner was expected to conduct autopsies on the victims.
—Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 16 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for autopsy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for autopsy
Noun
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The Apartment is a daring dissection of toxicity in the story of an insurance clerk (Jack Lemmon) who lets his co-workers use his apartment to support their infidelity.—
Brian Tallerico,
Vulture,
19 June 2026
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Co-created by Seinfeld and Larry David, the sitcom was a massive hit in the ’90s thanks to its wry dissection of social norms, and the talents of costars Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander, and Michael Richards.—
Britt Hayes,
Entertainment Weekly,
17 June 2026
Noun
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The cairn’s layers indicate they were not buried at the same time, however, and their bodies did not receive the same postmortem treatment.—
Jennifer Ouellette,
ArsTechnica,
11 June 2026
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When a project fails and the postmortem begins, the question of who was responsible for this person's judgment lands somewhere specific.—
Vibhas Ratanjee,
Forbes.com,
11 June 2026
Noun
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In addition to heat stroke, a necropsy for one of the dogs, Rosie, added blunt force trauma as the animal's cause of death, according to the OCDA.—
Matthew Rodriguez,
CBS News,
18 June 2026
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The death of a Central Park carriage horse that collapsed last week while on a ride with two passengers was caused by a foreign toxic plant, according to a necropsy publicized on Tuesday by the union representing carriage drivers.—
Aaron Katersky,
ABC News,
16 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Autopsy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/autopsy. Accessed 22 Jun. 2026.
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